Sasha Issenberg reports in the Boston Globe (3/2/10) that Fortune magazine Washington bureau chief and Fox News pundit Nina Easton advised Republican Mitt Romneyon his recent book No Apology. Easton told the Globe that she “offered some writer’s advice on things like structure and how to better tease out themes in his writing.”
This isn’t the first time Easton has had conflict-of-interest issues; her husband was a media consultant to Romney’s 2008 presidential campaign, and earlier worked for John McCain’s bid, entanglements that Easton dealt with by avoiding writing about her spouse’s boss (L.A. Times, 3/19/07). As Issenberg notes:
Many news organizations have policies explicitly forbidding reporters and editors from offering any support for political figures or their campaigns. A spokesman for Time Inc., which owns Fortune, did not respond to a request for comment on Easton’s role.
Presumably Fox News Channel doesn’t mind this sort of thing, but what’s Time/Fortune going to do?
Dumb and dumber; Easton and Romney.